Difference between Home Care & Home Health Care
The terms “Home Care” and “Home Health Care” sound similar, but the services they entail are quite different. Home care provides non-clinical help, such as meal preparation and companionship, while home health care provides professional medical help.
Your loved one can enjoy both treatments in the comfort of their home and can help them age in place confidently and maintain their independence. Learn more about the costs, features, and benefits of home health & home care to determine the best option for you or your loved one.
What’s Home Healthcare?
Home Health care is clinical supervision provided by a qualified professional. Registered and associate nurses, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists can all provide home health care services, usually through home health care institutions, agencies, and in some cases, hospice institutions. This type of care is usually prescribed by a doctor as part of an advanced care plan after hospitalization or injury. It can include:
- Physical & occupational therapy
- Administering prescriptions or shots
- Medical tests
- Monitoring of health status
- Wound care and treatment
Who can benefit from home health care?
Elderly people may not need home health care if there are no major medical problems. It is often useful for older people who need help with recent injuries, are prone to falls, or have been diagnosed with a chronic condition such as diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Elderly people recently discharged from rehabilitation, hospitalization, or skilled nursing facility
- Elderly people who need to be monitored after recent dressing changes
- A loved one who is too weak to move safely to and from the clinic.
- Elderly people who are generally impaired can benefit from occupational or physiotherapy to get back their independence.
What’s Home Healthcare’s cost?
According to Genworth Financial’s 2020 Health Survey, the average hourly cost of full-time home Healthcare for the elderly is about $34. Home health care costs vary widely depending on the location, the services provided, and the level of care needed by the elderly. Home Health care assistants usually are licensed nurses and medical professionals, so they are more likely to be expensive than home care assistants who do not provide medical help.
What’s home care?
Home Care provides empathy and support for seniors who need support in their daily activities. The level of care varies according to need and can range from preparing meals each week to helping with urinary incontinence. Home care assistants can be hired individually or contracted through an agency. They are trained to understand the nuances of elderly care, but are often not licensed to provide medical services. Elderly home care services include support for many daily needs.
- Companionship – reading, chatting, family activities
- Transportation and appointments
- Supports check writing and financial management
- Support ADL such as dressing, bathing, and nursing
- meal preparation or delivery
- Medication management & reminders, but not directly administering medications
- Clean and organize
Who stands to benefit from home care?
Home care can benefit seniors of all kinds who are aging in place. It could be your older loved one needs more social interaction to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation, or more professional help, home care aides can provide coveted assistance.
Seniors who need support for ADL, from bathing to toileting
Seniors who are still active but need transportation to and from activities and medical appointments
Loved ones who need help with cooking, cleaning, and other household responsibilities
Seniors who need social interactions or are isolated at home
What’s the cost of home care?
Most home care assistants and agencies charge on an hourly basis. Family bills vary greatly depending on how much help your loved ones need, as home care hours are often determined as needed.
According to Genworth, the average hourly cost of home care in 2020 is $32.7 However, location, Province, wage laws, and agency requirements often affect the cost of home care, so you may pay more or less depending on where your older relatives live.
Comparing HomeCare & Home HealthCare
Often, families find home care and home healthcare combined to be beneficial for their loved ones. Medical professionals can provide medical services, and Care aids support with daily activities. This approach ensures that the emotional and medical needs of older adults are met. Check out the table below to better understand if your loved one can benefit from home care or home healthcare, and how services can be combined.
| Service Offered | Home Health | Home Care |
|---|---|---|
| Bathing/Dressing Assistance | No | Yes |
| Bathroom Needs | Sometimes | Yes |
| Cleaning Services | No | Yes |
| Companionship | No | Yes |
| Formal Health Monitoring | Yes | No |
| Injections | Yes | No |
| Major Wound Care | Yes | No |
| Meal Delivery/Prep | No | Yes |
| Medical Tests | Yes | No |
| Medication Administration | Yes | No |
| Medication Reminders | Yes | Yes |
| Pain Management | Yes | Sometimes |
| Rehabilitation Therapy | Yes | No |
| Skilled Nursing | Yes | No |
| Transportation | No | Yes |
Paying for home care vs. home health care & specifics covered by insurance?
Home healthcare is a branch of medical services, but home care includes day-to-day personal support. Insurance tends to cover only certain types of care accordingly:
Medicaid covers both types of care for eligible seniors (on the basis of income), but specific coverage varies from province to province.
Private payments are common with homecare but are only required for home healthcare not specified by your doctor.
Long-term care insurance only covers home care if it is included in the loved one’s existing plan. Check with your insurance agent for more information.
What is Medicaid in Canada?
Medicaid is a federal-provincial cooperative program designed to help low-income and low-asset individuals pay for medical care, including long-term care. However, you must follow various guidelines when trying to get money from Medicaid.
Medicaid guidelines vary by the Canadian state. Medicaid covers a variety of assisted-living support costs in Canada, including memory/Alzheimer’s disease care.
However, you must meet eligibility requirements for this aid. Keep in mind that the requirements and benefits of access vary by your province of residence.
Nonetheless, Canadian federal law requires that provinces provide certain services to Medicaid recipients. The province per federal law must pay for nursing facilities and home health care services for qualifying Medicaid recipients.
Coverage Determining Factors
Some factors will determine the amount Medicaid will pay for assisted living. Below are some of the factors:
- The level of care
- Province of residence
- The province’s Medicaid program
However, the fully determine how much Medicaid will pay for assisted living, you will need to carry out a need assessment. A need assessment usually calculates the number of hours Medicaid will cover. For instance, people with a more significant need for assistance can get a huge amount of money for caregiver hours per month.
Medicaid Coverage
Medicaid assistance approval is based on financial(income and assets) and functional needs. However, provinces can decide to use Medicaid funding to provide additional long-term care services such as home health care for non-qualified individuals.
These can be people who do not qualify for a nursing home, assisted living facilities, adult foster homes, and in-home services such as help with housekeeping and medication management.
In addition, Medicaid may cover the cost of skilled nursing and emergency response systems. However, Medicaid will not cover the cost of room and board as it most times accounts for half of the cost of assisted living.
General Medicaid Coverage
And as stated above, the coverage by Medicaid depends on provincial programs. However, some general services under assisted living are paid for by Medicaid. Below are some of the coverage:
- Inpatient hospital services
- Physician services
- Federally qualified health center services
- Home health services
- Transportation to medical care
- Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment services: EPSDT
- Outpatient hospital services
- Nursing facility services
- Rural health clinic services
- Laboratory and X-ray services
Conclusion
Medicaid assistance coverage depends on your province of residence. However, each province has right within the federal government guideline that gives room for modifications. In addition, these modifications allow the province to set policies on how they assist persons residing in assisted living communities.
Since the aid per person depends on provincial law, it is advisable to review your province’s specific Medicaid details. Also, it is important to note that most assisted living communities do not accept Medicaid, hence we may want to ask for community policies before signing up.
